The present invention pertains to a blower assembly for gas wells and to a method of coupling a gas blower to a gas pipeline. More particularly, the present invention pertains to an improved blower assembly which can be easily and inexpensively installed and which minimizes the amount of above-ground piping and other components and also permits those above-ground components to be protected from the outdoor elements so as to minimize exposure to extreme weather conditions.
Much gas is produced from natural and coalbed methane gas fields. A blower is usually utilized to move the gas through the gas pipelines. The temperatures in such gas fields might run to well over 100xc2x0 F. during the summer and to lower than xe2x88x9250xc2x0 F. during the winter. The gas flows twenty-four hours a day year around. Consequently, the blower must be capable of long run times under extreme weather conditions. The blower must also be easy and inexpensive to install and to maintain.
The present invention is an improved gas blower assembly particularly suited for gas fields to move gas through pipelines and to a method of coupling a gas blower to a gas pipeline. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a preassembled gas well blower assembly includes a platform having a support surface above a surface of the ground. A blower is supported on the support surface and has an inlet and an outlet. An inlet pipe has an outlet end connected to the blower inlet and extends downwardly through the support surface to an inlet end adapted to be coupled to a first gas pipeline section to receive gas therefrom. An outlet pipe has an inlet end connected to the blower outlet and extends downwardly through the support surface to an outlet end adapted to be coupled to a second gas pipeline section to provide gas thereto. The platform, with the blower supported thereon and having the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe connected thereto, can be positioned over first and second gas pipeline sections and coupled thereto to permit the blower to cause gas to be blown through the pipeline sections.
In a second embodiment, the inlet pipe extends horizontally from the wellbox to a gas pipeline extending from the wellhead, which can also be within a wellbox. Since at most only minimal pipes are exposed to the ambient conditions, the hazards of freezing and of exposed gas pipe are significantly reduced. The overall height of the assembly allows the assembly to be easily enclosed within a standard wellbox, such as a fiberglass insulated box.
A preferred embodiment of the method of coupling a gas well blower to a gas pipeline in accordance with the present invention includes preassembling a gas well blower assembly including a platform having a support surface which are above a surface of the ground, a blower supported on the support surface and having an inlet and an outlet, an inlet pipe having an outlet end connected to the blower inlet and extending downwardly through the support surface to an inlet end, and an outlet pipe having an inlet end connected to the blower outlet and extending downwardly through the support surface to an outlet end. The gas well blower assembly is moved to a position over first and second gas pipeline sections. The inlet pipe inlet end is coupled to the first gas pipeline section to permit said inlet pipe inlet end to receive gas from the first gas pipeline section, and the outlet pipe outlet end is coupled to the second gas pipeline section to permit the outlet pipe outlet end to provide gas to the second gas pipeline section, and so to permit the blower to cause gas to be blown through the pipeline sections.